JP/7/KOREA26

JP/7/KOREA26

President Roh must stay firm on N.Korea policy

Shim Jae Hoon
Journalist
Korea Herald

President Roh Moo-hyun is in a ring of fire over his policy
shifts on North Korea. But he should stay the course, not waiver.

The first test of Roh's leadership comes from the Hanchongnyon
national student group, which is attacking his new "tougher" line
on the North following the recent summit talks with U.S.
President George W. Bush. The student radicals, once a base of
support in his quest for the Blue House, accuse him of
"subservience" to Bush's hard-line policy on the nuclear
standoff. They attack Washington for preparing a preemptive
strike on the North's Yongbyon nuclear facility, saying the South
must block that at all cost.

From the North comes a predictable series of blackmails. Pak
Chang-ryon, the chief North Korean delegate to the economic talks
in Pyongyang on Tuesday, has threatened to unleash an
"incalculable calamity" against the South if it linked the
economic cooperation projects with the nuclear issue.

The Pyongyang regime insists on keeping the nuclear standoff
separate from economic collaboration, such as relinking severed
railways, and Seoul building an industrial park for development
of North Korean industry. Its attitude is this: You go on
providing us with more economic aid or we will shake your
security front. As for the nuclear issue, leave that us and the
United States to deal with.

It's bluster and blackmail, but it should not leave us
intimidated. Nor should it, in any way, affect the Roh
administration's new course of continuing with humanitarian food
aid, even as it links future economic projects with the nuclear
issue. With the Pyongyang regime now openly admitting it has
nuclear weapons, and declaring the 1992 denuclearization accord
with the South null and void, the North can't expect the South to
go on playing the role of Santa Claus forever. Seoul is right in
putting on hold the ongoing discussion on rail links and the
industrial park in Gaeseong.

It's time for Seoul to do some hardnosed calculations. It has
already pumped a large amount of cash into the North under former
president Kim Dae-jung's misguided policy of buying peace with
cash transfers. On top of over $500 million in illegal cash
payments by Hyundai business group, the North has received other
hard currency through merchandise trade and Mount Geumgang
tourism fees.

But this program of aid in cash and kind has failed to trigger
reciprocal moves on the political front. The North still keeps
tensions high along the border; it keeps peace talks and family
reunions haphazardly based on more aid. Every promise of dialogue
has required a new price tag.

But that hasn't kept Seoul and Washington from becoming the
two biggest sources of food aid to the North for almost a decade
now, practically forcing them to feed the 22 million starving
North Koreans on behalf of their totalitarian regime, which
callously diverts resources for developing the "bomb."

Therefore, the two countries are sending more shipments of
food and fertilizer this year, in response to the North's
audacious demand for half a million tons of rice this year, and
200,000 tons of fertilizer to raise more crops.

But this time, Seoul is pressing the North to accept outside
monitors to check on distribution to make sure grains destined
for the neediest people are not diverted to feed the soldiers of
the Korean People's Army. Our Agriculture Ministry officials
should go one step farther and keep our grain shipments,
consisting of corn and maize, which are consumed by ordinary
North Koreans, not party and military leaders.

In short, Seoul's aid policy will aim more at succoring the
suffering North Korean populace, rather than filling up military
or party elites. Our new policy goals also require stopping cash
transfers to Pyongyang, including cash for merchandise trade. At
the same time, Seoul must actively help the Japanese government's
efforts to end cash remittances by ethnic Korean residents in
Japan supportive of the North.

Internal challenges to President Roh's new policy initiatives
are no less tough. At home, he needs to deal firmly with the
leftwing community in general, including the National Teachers
and Education Workers Union protesting the policy shifts on
Pyongyang. The National Police Agency and the Justice Ministry
are right in regarding student demonstrators and illegal strike
planned by leftwing school teachers as requiring a strong
response to maintain law and order.

It is true that once they played a constructive role of
leading the country's fight for democracy under military rule.
But South Korea has long since built its democratic institutions;
indeed, it is well on the way to consolidating this achievement.
All this could crumble in the face of new threats of war and
violent revolutions as unleashed by the North's totalitarian
system.

It's time Roh drew the line on activism now that we are under
obligation to protect and nurture our political process in the
South. He should make it clear that from now on, it's going to be
the ballot, not street protest, that brings about political
changes.